Who Everyone Wants
by Bonzai-Bunny
Summary: De-anoning from the kinkmeme. Poland found out that Estonia was a virgin, and doesn't exactly stay quiet about it. Hence a whole bunch of nations forming a bet to see who can steal his virginity first. This is not boding well for Estonia.
1. Chapter 1

Warnings: Eventual yaoi, language, angst.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: For some reason, I guess because this is one of the few things I've posted on the kink meme that doesn't shame me, I've decided to deanon myself. And to spread the Estonia love a little. I would also love to know who ya'll want Estonia to end up with~

---o0o---

Okay, so this so, totally, wasn't fair. It was another one of those stupid conference-thingies (Poland swore that nothing good came from the nations being forced to stay in the same hotel together) and the blonde decided that he should throw a little party in his room. A get-together for the guys (though some protested to the fact that Poland actually was one). But everyone there was totally ignoring him.

And it may have been the alcohol (okay, it was _probably_ the alcohol) that drove him into such an attention-craving state. But as he lay on his bed, giggling with a bottle in hand and his skirt hiked up more than usual, he couldn't help but to feel a flush of excitement as he announced, "You know, I found out that Estonia is totally a virgin," and everyone stared at him with a mix of surprise and lust mingling in their drunken gazes.

Poland probably should have been alarmed at how quickly Russia moved to him, with a strange brightness in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

"Really? How did Poland acquire that information?"

Poland scoffed. "I asked him, duh. I had never seen him with anyone before, so I asked about it."

"And he just told you?"

"_Obviously._ And anyway, I'm surprised you haven't had him, Russia. Seeing as terrorizing him and his brothers seem to be a hobby of yours anyway." Oh yeah, it was definitely the alcohol talking.

Russia's smile dimmed ever so slightly. "No, seeing Estonia's troubled face wasn't as appealing to me as his brothers. And I thought Denmark had…"

Denmark raised his hands in defense. "As much as I would like to say I had, I never touched the guy. He always said he was saving himself or something."

Everyone turned to look at Finland who promptly blushed. "No! We never—I mean we were close, but never like that. He's like a brother to me."

And then France said the one sentence everyone had been thinking since Estonia's virginal status had been known.

"I haven't done a virgin in a really long time…"

And this was true. Because most nations tried to stick with their own kind, and there was a limited number of them, and they all had been living (with the exception of a few) for hundreds of years, almost all of them had experienced the finer pleasures in life.

Almost all of them except Estonia that is, and all of the male nations seemed to realize this at the same time.

"Ah, but Estonia will become one with me first. It is only natural," Russia smiled, only to have Prussia shout next to him.

"Ha! How much you wanna bet, fatty? I'll be fucking Estonia in no time."

"But you have no tact," tisked France. "And it is only right for Estonia's first to be _la terre de l'amour._"

"Estonia's virginity shall belong to me!" Quipped Korea.

An argument commenced over who would take the poor nation's virginity and then that fateful sentence was said.

"I bet all of you mates that I'll be in his pants before this conference is over."

Everyone looked over at the Australian who had been strangely quiet over the entire ordeal. There was a wild, challenging gleam in his eyes, and that only encouraged the other nations more. America was the first to accept.

"You're on."

"But what are we betting for? What the winner gets is obvious, but it isn't fun if the losers don't suffer." Coming from Finland, that statement was probably more frightening than intended.

"I think the losers should have to do whatever the winner wants for a week," mumbled a just-waking-up Greece, shooting a bleary-eyed glare in Turkey's direction.

"That sounds awfully kinky," smiled France, "I like it!"

"Alright then, the bet's settled. May the best man," Poland tried to ignore how America's eyes shifted towards him questioningly, "win!"

And at that moment, Poland's hotel room door opened, and Estonia entered, pressing something on his cell phone's screen.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to—" He looked up when he noticed a strange aura and a silence in the room. All of the nations were staring at him, dark intention flickering in their eyes. Some of them were smiling, like they had just captured some precious prize, and when Russia stepped forward, a chill when up Estonia's spine. He recognized that look. It was that look that said one of his brothers would be suffering that night, only this wasn't one of Russia's alcohol-induced, psychotic moods. All of the nations were staring at him like that.

"Estonia~"

Fear took over rationality. The Baltic nation did the only thing he thought he could do: he ran like hell.

--o0o--

Estonia wasn't quite sure how he outran and lost all of the nations behind him, but he was quite thankful when he entered his brother's hotel room and shut and locked the door. He tried to catch his breath, gasping, his back pressed flat against the door and, somehow, Lithuania's tense smile wasn't comforting at all.

"Eduard, I was just about to call you."

"You wouldn't happen to know why everyone's treating me like I have a bounty on my head, would you?" He slid to the ground, out of shape, and still gasping for air. When Lithuania winced, he knew his brother knew.

"That's kind of what I was going to call about. Here," he handed his cell phone to the blonde, who read the message displayed across the screen.

_"Everyone, there's a virgin among us and his name is Estonia. We have a bet going amongst ourselves and we want you in on it. The first person to pop his cherry before this conference is over wins. The losers have to do whatever the winner says for a week, but tell him about the bet and you're disqualified. Happy hunting!"_

If Estonia wasn't so worn out from evading the other nations, he might have been livid, but there would be time for that later; he needed to stop this. He handed the phone back to his concerned-looking brother, with a humorless smile.

"I guess you're disqualified, Toris."

Lithuania frowned. "Eduard…"

"How did this even happen? I never told anyone I was a virgin, except—" His eyes widened as the obvious culprit came to him. _Poland._

In hindsight, telling the exuberant blonde about his sex life might not have been a good idea. Maybe if he talked to the Pole he could get him to call this whole, ridiculous bet off. But there was no time for that. A heavy hand knocked on Lithuania's door, startling both of them.

"Lithuania, open up~" Came the childish, sing-song voice that they both knew too well. The brothers looked at each other, eyes widened in fear, and frantically Estonia scrambled to his feet. Lithuania motioned towards his bathroom for hideout and the blonde quickly followed the direction.

"Lithuania~? I won't ask again."

"C-coming!"

Once the bathroom door shut, Lithuania unlocked and opened his main door, smiling nervously up at the larger nation and blocking any entrance into his room.

"Mr. Russia, what brings you here?"

The nation's normally present smile was missing, which meant that he was on a mission. Which meant that it would more than likely not end well for whoever he was looking for. The corners of his mouth lifted upward slightly at the sight of the other nation.

"Have you seen your brother?" Russia peered into the Baltic nation's room, over his head.

"Uh, which brother?"

"Estonia." Lithuania shook his head, trying not to tremble in the face of the large nation.

"No, I haven't. Maybe you should check his room?"

"I have. But I think I will check yours."

Lithuania could only stare in horror as Russia pushed him aside and entered his hotel room.

"B-but—!" He tried to protest, but Russia put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"If he is not here, then you have nothing to hide, da?" The Russian smiled. Lithuania nodded reluctantly, and prayed that Russia wouldn't head for the bathroom.

"But if he is here, you will regret not telling me," the nation mumbled, not noticing how pale Lithuania's face went, as he looked under the Lithuanian's bed.

"I'm telling you he isn't here, Mr. Russia."

"Then I will see to that myself."

The Russian clearly wasn't going to be deterred and Lithuania was closer to having a heart attack when Russia peered into his closet. He thought he might have actually had one when Russia opened his bathroom door and flicked on the light.

The room seemed empty. There was a toilet, a sink, a bathtub and shower curtain, but there was no Estonia standing there. Lithuania almost sighed with relief, but then Russia stepped in and looked around briefly before pulling back the shower curtain.

_No!_

Lithuania cringed, but the space was astonishingly absent of the other Baltic nation. Russia frowned and walked out, clearly feeling like he was missing something. He gave a forced smile to the Baltic state.

"What do you know, Lithuania, he is not here after all."

Lithuania nodded, still feeling his heartbeat in his ears.

"But if you see him, you will tell me, da?"

"Of course Mr. Russia."

Russia gave him a look that was a thinly veiled threat, before leaving and Lithuania shut the door behind him with a sigh.

"Eduard? You can come out now."

There was a sound like a crash coming out of the bathroom and Lithuania hurried back to it, seeing his brother crawl out from the large cabinet underneath the sink. Lithuania couldn't help but to smile, thinking how he never would have thought of hiding there.

"Are you okay? Sorry about that," he bit his lip and helped his brother to his feet, who nodded.

"Yeah, I just probably need a room to stay in now," he frowned, dusting himself off. "At least until everyone else is sober,"

"You're welcome to stay here. I'm sorry Feliks caused you so much trouble. He does that sometimes."

Estonia paused.

"How did you—?"

Lithuania smiled apologetically. "He told me a while ago. If it's any conciliation, I think it's noble of you to still have your virginity."

Estonia found his cheeks coloring, because for some reason, he never expected to have this conversation with his brother. He shook his head and looked away.

"No, there's nothing noble about it." There was a strange heaviness in his voice, but when he looked up, he was smiling slightly, the corners of his mouth strained at the edges. "But thank you, for allowing me to stay here."

Lithuania gave his brother a concerned look, but didn't press it. "Of course, I would do anything for you." He squeezed his brother's shoulder encouragingly and Estonia nodded.

"I know. I'm going to have a talk with Poland." Funny how he didn't look pleased about it. "Wish me luck." Estonia's expression was a strange mix of apprehension and hope and Lithuania wished him good luck before the blonde left.

He knew his brother would need it.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: Some pretty 'M-rated' making out and language. Aaaangst. (I'm not sure what gave everyone the opinion this would be a happy fic xD).

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: I am changing some minor stuff from the way it was written on the kink meme. Also, these first couple of chapters have already been written, so updates might be a little lacking. Also, aaagnst.

-o0o-

When Estonia made it to Poland's room, after some ninja-ing through the hallways (he almost ran into Denmark and that certainly wouldn't have been good), he knew that however he expected the conversation to go, he would be proved wrong. And he also knew that if he thought this was going to be easy, he was kidding himself. Lo and behold, when he opened the unlocked door to the other nation's room, he discovered that Poland had yet to move from his spot on his bed from the last time Estonia was there.

In fact, he looked like he was too drunk to move, judging by the empty bottles on the ground near him. But then, Poland pushed himself up onto his elbows, cheeks flushed with alcohol, and his eyes lit up at the Baltic nation entering his room.

"You're here because you've totally decided to let me pop your cherry, right?" He grinned, and Estonia winced.

It was going to be much, much harder than he thought.

"That's actually what I came to talk to you about." Estonia tried not to betray his dislike as he moved aside a stray piece of clothing on the Pole's bed before sitting down.

"I wanted to ask why you told everyone about my…sexual status."

"'Cause everyone deserves a chance to see how totally cute you are," Poland winked.

The unexpected compliment set Estonia's cheeks aflame, but he wasn't going be deterred that easily.

"That's not an excuse, Poland."

"Tch. Yeah it is." He scooted up to the end of the bed where the other nation was sitting and rested his head on the other's shoulder, not noticing how even redder Estonia went.

"I remember when you were like, really little and adorable and stuff. And now you've grown up and you still don't know the amazing feeling of sex? That's totally not going to work." Estonia missed the slur of the other's nation's voice when Poland placed a hand on his thigh. He immediately tensed, but forced himself to appear calm.

"And I suppose that you want to be the one to teach me about the joys of sex, right?"

Poland grinned and nodded, as though the statement was an invitation and not a sarcastic one (though, considering he was inebriated, he probably couldn't tell the difference).

"Like hell yeah."

"Poland—"

He couldn't speak because, suddenly, a pair of lips had been pressed against his. Estonia's eyes widened, startled, and for a few seconds he didn't know what to do with the warm lips attached to his and the Pole beginning to wrap his arms around his neck.

Then the lips started to move, they started to suck along his bottom lip, and Estonia flushed more because, not only did it feel good, but well, he had never been kissed that way before. He had been kissed before, yes, but not like Poland was kissing him now. And when he felt a tongue push against the crevice of his lips, asking for entrance, something in Estonia's mind went slack. It might have gone against his better instincts—no, it _definitely_ went against his better instincts—but something told him he should just allow it. He should just give into the pleasure for once in his life, and he did. He opened his mouth to allow Poland's tongue, and kissed back, which only encouraged the other nation more.

Poland used his arms around the Baltic nation's neck as leverage to straddle the other's lap, to Estonia's surprise, never breaking the kiss. He could hardly think with Poland's naked thighs pressed against his, naughty and tempting, and the skirt barely covering the Pole's panties. He tried to concentrate on the hot tongue sliding over his, but then Poland _ground_ their hips together and fire shot through Estonia's steadily growing hard on, and he gasped into Poland's scorching mouth.

Estonia felt Poland's smirk against his lips and the nation did it again, more vigorously, causing their cocks to stiffen even more between them. Then Poland broke the kiss, and he shoved down on Estonia's shoulder, pushing him down to the bed.

Something like an alarm went off in Estonia's brain. It told him that he didn't want to be, that he shouldn't be, doing this with Poland, but the smaller nation reconnected their hips and his mind was effectively shut up by the carnal craving that coursed through him. All he knew was that he had never been more turned on in his life. All he cared about was that hot, throbbing feeling in his khakis and gratifying it.

It felt good. It felt damn good and it made Estonia feel less guilty about his want, the desire flooding through his veins.

Poland must have heard his thoughts, because after he broke the kiss to suck hungrily against the Baltic nation's neck, he reached down and cupped the hard bulge at his crotch. Estonia failed to stifle a groan as the nation's hand rubbed and grasped his vital regions, and he arched into the touch.

"God," Poland murmured hotly against his neck, "you're almost as big as Liet."

And that one sentence sent reality crashing into the Baltic. He felt his stomach plummet with the heavy realization of his fault. He couldn't be doing this with Poland; he would be betraying his brother. He wasn't sure if Toris and Poland were together at the moment (like most nations, they had an on and off again relationship), but they had been together for so long; Estonia felt like he was ruining it. Not only that, but he didn't plan to give Poland the satisfaction of winning the bet.

"P-Poland, _stop_."

It all came back to that stupid bet, didn't it? Never mind what he wanted, Poland's only concern was probably winning. But it was still hard to break away, to think, with hot lips still marking bruises along his collarbone and the hand still cupping, rubbing against his erection.

"Like, why?" Poland whined, and Estonia tried to sit up a little, to move Poland's hand when suddenly, the door opened.

"Hey, Poland, I think I left my…"

Finland froze and trailed off, looking up at the pair on the bed. Estonia stilled also, shocked, forgetting that he was ever about to push Poland away as a bright flush returned to his cheeks. They stared at each other, neither nation saying a thing as embarrassment drifted mutually between them. Estonia could only think how it must look with Poland, in a skirt, straddling him and his hand overtop Poland's hand on his crotch.

Poland looked back and forth between the two, revelation slowly forming in his mind, and a smile formed on his lips. He shot Finland a low, triumphant smirk, and he traced his tongue traced along the curve of Estonia's Adam's apple as his hand continued rubbing against the nation's hard on. Estonia let out a surprised gasp.

The action shocked Finland out of his stupor.

"Um, s-sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything…" Finland backed away slowly, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the scene, and his cheeks burned. His back hit sharply against the edge of the door frame, which seemed to make the blush turn redder.

"I g-guess I'll see you…?" He didn't give either of them a chance to respond before he scrambled out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Estonia tried to call after him but it was too late; he was gone.

"Forget about him, 'kay?" Poland moved to unzip Estonia's pants, but his hands were shoved away.

"No, I'm not—" Estonia sighed, unable to come up with words for just how badly he had fucked up, and sat up, pushing Poland off of his lap.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry Poland, but I can't do this with you," Estonia looked away, mentally berating himself for having let this get so far. He felt awkward at the very least; shamed by his marginal mistake and angry that he was almost taken advantage of so easily.

"It's just—it's not going to work."

He stood and tugged his shirt collar self-consciously over the bruises he knew would be there and his erection slowly went back to its flaccid state, realizing it wasn't about to get any.

"Whatever," Poland scoffed, clearly agitated, and he crawled off of his bed to pick up his cell phone.

"If you, like, won't have sex with me, then I'll find someone who will."

The statement was like a strike of a match and Estonia fumed, blood flushing to his cheeks in anger. Of course. He was still nothing but a plaything, something that could easily be replaced, but he bit his tongue. It wouldn't do well to argue or confront Poland now, it was always a losing battle and he should have realized this. He shouldn't even have bothered (funny how he had proved himself right), and he cast a look in Poland's direction that he knew would be ignored before he left to find Finland.

Estonia wasn't quite sure why he needed to find the Nordic nation. Something bothered him about Finland thinking that he was about to do _that_ with Poland, when he wasn't. He hadn't. He had never, but it still bothered him nonetheless.

He took a big sigh before knocking on the nation's door.

After a few moments it opened to a confused looking Finland.

"Eduard…?"

"I just wanted you to know that what you saw back there…what I—we didn't really…" He trailed off, at a lost. What was he supposed to say? _Don't worry, I didn't really have sex with Poland._It was awkward at best, and Estonia once again questioned why it meant so much to him for Finland to know.

"I'm sorry," he looked away, faintly embarrassed that he couldn't find the words. "Can I come in?"

Finland nodded and moved aside to let the Baltic nation in. There was a bit of a silence before they both started speaking at once.

"Nothing happened back—"

"It's none of my business to—"

They paused. Then they immediately broke into laughter at the awkwardness of it all.

"I'm sorry, go ahead."

"I was saying that nothing happened back there. It was…a misunderstanding. What were you going to say?"

Finland stared a little before looking at the ground sheepishly.

"Actually, I was going to say that it's none of my business who you…have relations with." He paused, before looking up with a strange expression.

"No, that's a lie," he frowned. "Honestly, I was a bit jealous."

Estonia blinked. "Really?"

"Yes," Finland moved closer, biting his lip, "I was worried I was going to lose you to Poland."

His hand brushed against the side of Estonia's neck, no doubt touching the red marks that were there. "I couldn't take that."

Estonia swallowed harshly at his friend's abrupt closeness. After all of these years, he would have never guessed that Finland felt about him that way. This was all so sudden.

In fact, now that Estonia thought about it, it was all _conveniently_ sudden. Something reeked about how Finland was suddenly proclaiming to have an attraction to him right after a nationwide bet was made about having sex with him. The Baltic nation could only hope his friend wouldn't sink so low, but if he turned out to be right…

Estonia inwardly glowered. Two could play at this game.

"I didn't know you felt so strongly."

Finland nodded, a small smile peeking from his lips. He moved closer still, until their chests were almost touching. Estonia felt heat rise to his face, despite himself, and he tried to be angry, he really did, but it was hard.

"You're beautiful, Eduard. I couldn't help but to feel this way."

"What do you find beautiful, exactly?" He asked, watching to see if Finland would falter. Unfortunately (fortunately?), he didn't.

"The way you nibble on pen tops when you're nervous. The way you would easily sacrifice yourself if it meant keeping your people safe. And your eyes, they're stunning."

Estonia felt his chest tighten so much it almost hurt when Finland leaned up to place a chaste kiss on his lips. He didn't know if it was because how much he wished it to be true or how he feared it to be false.

"You know me well," he breathed.

Finland gave him an odd look. "Of course. We've been friends for centuries."

"How long have you wanted this?"

"For all of those centuries," he trailed off, frowning. "You're awfully quizzical today."

Damn it. There was no preventing this.

Estonia smiled apologetically and leaned in to press his lips against Finland's ear. "Just a few more questions. What would you do if I gave a part of myself to you that I've never given to anyone else?"

"I would accept if, of course….because I care about you."

"You do? Are you certain it has nothing to do with sex?"

Finland pulled back, shocked. "What gave you—?"

"I'm sure part of you likes the idea of taking me, of taking my virginity." He didn't say it in a jeering or malicious tone, but Finland looked up anyway, searching for some sign that he was joking and not pragmatic. Not finding one, he blushed and averted his eyes, unable to hold Estonia's steely gaze.

"Yes…but that's not the only reason; you should know that."

"No, I'm sure winning a bet is a good incentive too."

The immediate look of horror and guilt that washed over Finland's face proved everything that Estonia needed to know. He felt something in his stomach plummet as Finland began to stutter an explanation, and his throat began to tighten the more the other lied.

"T-this has nothing to do with that! Eduard, you should know I care much more about you than some stupid bet, right?"

"Should I?"

"Y-yes! I'm your best friend, and—and friends don't do that to each other."

Estonia smiled sadly, not even wanting to look at the other. "No, they don't."

He turned around to leave, when Finland grabbed his arm.

"Wait, don't—"

"Just tell me one thing, and don't lie to me, Tino. Did you mean any of it?"

Finland bit his lip and looked at the ground guiltily. "I…I don't know. Maybe."

Estonia shook his head before pulling his arm out of Finland's grasp. He kept on his path, hearing the Nordic nation's voice behind him.

"I-I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! Eesti!"

He ignored it though, feeling a thick lump forming in his throat as he walked the hallways back to his brother's room.

"Eduard, how did it…" Lithuania trailed off, seeing the other Baltic's crestfallen expression.

"What happened?"

Estonia shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. I just—I just want to sleep right now."

Lithuania still looked concerned (as he always did), but didn't press it once again.

"Okay."

Estonia gave his brother a grateful look before sitting down on Lithuania's bed to pull of his shoes and socks. There was only one bed, and he knew his brother wouldn't stand for him sleeping in the recliner.

"Thanks again Toris," he murmured, a little displeased that he was causing Lithuania such worry and invading on his privacy.

"It's nothing," Lithuania smiled, and Estonia knew it didn't bother the other nearly as much.

He tore off his shirts and trousers before folding them neatly on a chair. Then he removed his glasses and crawled into bed, Lithuania shortly following suit after he turned off the light.

"Good night, Eduard."

He could feel his brother's body heat even though they weren't pressed together, and it reminded him of when they were much younger, when he would sneak into Toris's bed whenever he was frightened. He felt his brother's hand search for his underneath the covers. It was comforting.

"Good night, Toris."

And for the moment, he could melt.


	3. Chapter 3

Warnings: Language, angst.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: I've changed quite a little bit from when I originally posted this, because the Netherlands had never appeared before and now that he has, he's become marginally OOC, so I'm taking him out. Also, anon, since I couldn't reply to you, I just wanted to say that I know the Baltics aren't really related, but I like to portray them as such and, no, he's not going to end up with Lithuania for precisely that reason. Thank you.

-o0o-

It became obvious to Estonia that he couldn't make it through this conference by himself. He still had a week and a half to go, and he didn't think he could avoid the more aggressive nations that long, seeing as they had daily meetings to attend, and he couldn't avoid his room forever. It wasn't that he expected them to try and rape him in the hallway or something.

Okay, it wasn't as if he expected _all_ of them to try and rape him in the hallway.

But under the right circumstances (such as copious amounts of alcohol) they would probably try something that they would (hopefully) regret in the morning.

Not only that, but it was putting a load of stress on Lithuania (and probably Latvia too, who he had yet to call and confirm that he was okay). There was no choice. There was only one nation who could, not only protect him, but he could trust to not try anything. But Estonia could only hope he could get through the stubborn nation, because he didn't have many options left. After he woke up and got dressed, he immediately set off to the other's room.

"You want me to _what_?" As predicted, the request didn't go well.

Estonia shifted uneasily under Switzerland's piercing gaze in the hallway. "I want—I need you, to protect me."

There was no response other than a glare.

"Please?"

Switzerland sighed. "Look, you're an intelligent nation. You understand what 'neutral' means don't you?"

"Yes, but don't you often help out nations in crisis?"

"When their _people_ are in crisis. This sounds more like a personal problem to me."

Estonia frowned, trying to think of a way to appeal to the other nation.

"Surely you can make an exception—" he was cut off with Switzerland's raised hand.

"No, I can't. If I make an exception for you, then I have to make an exception for everybody else."

Damn it. There was only one thing left and if it didn't coax the Swiss, Estonia wasn't sure what would.

"I'll pay you."

That immediately garnered the attention of the other nation.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I'll pay you. I'll configure all of the security on your national banks for three months for free. I'll make them twice as impenetrable as they are now."

The proposition had worked. Switzerland frowned, probably thinking if it was really okay for him to do this, but he had been obviously hooked by the word "free." He looked to the side, scowling.

"Six months. And if Lichtenstein gets hurt during this in anyway, you will pay." He added emphasis by pulling out a pistol and pressing it to Estonia's chest. The Baltic nation paled.

"D-deal."

Estonia was glad that he had thought of the hot-tempered neutral nation when he did, because the moment he entered the conference room, there was a hush over the nations as most of them turned towards him.

He felt heat rise to his face, but he kept walking, thankfully with Switzerland and (more importantly) Switzerland's rifle in tow beside him.

They were staring as though he were some sort of oddity (though, he supposed he was) or was as elusive as one of England's unicorns and for all the secretive nature of the bet, they all failed miserably at being subtle about it. It also didn't help that some of them were clearly talking about him, either doing a lousy job at whispering or blatantly pointing.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"He's kind of cute, though I'd take away the glasses."

"Why is Switzerland with him, aru?"

"Do you think they…?"

Damn it all. Estonia shot an apologetic look to Switzerland when they sat down at their seats for dragging him into this. He was sitting between the latter and his sister (which, let's face it, most nations were afraid of sitting next to both) and Switzerland put his weapon beside him.

"_Switzerland?_ No way!"

"But think about it: he's never with anyone but his sister."

"I don't believe it."

"Total props if he did though."

Estonia nearly jumped out of his chair when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see France smiling down at him.

"Ah, _bonjour Estonie_, you are looking lovely today." France's hand slid off of his shoulder down the Baltic nation's chest and Estonia flushed, trying to remove the hand, when thankfully, Switzerland came to the rescue.

"Back away, France." He jabbed at France's side with the barrel of the rifle, his finger already hovering above the trigger.

France frowned, but did as he was told, and backed away slowly with his hands raised.

"So hostile _mon cher_? And for _Estonie_ too? When did you get so cozy with him?"

Switzerland scoffed. "Cozy has nothing to do with it. You're clearly harassing the guy next to me. What if I was next because I turned a blind eye?"

France flashed the other a cruel smile. "Funny, unless my memory is lacking, I don't believe that has ever been your policy, my dear _Suisse_. _Ever_. In fact, if I remember correctly, it was the exact opposite when I was inv—"

"Don't even go there," Switzerland scowled, aiming his gun higher. "Just drop it and keep walking."

France still looked affronted, but flipped his hair back with a huff.

"Fine. And _Estonie_…" Estonia looked up against his better judgment to see France wink at him, "I will see you later."

The Frenchman left, with Switzerland still scowling, and Estonia looked awkwardly down at his hands. He felt bad, to be honest.

"I'm sorry about that. He was right; I'm obviously forcing you to go against the years of neutrality your country is famous for."

Switzerland waved off his apology. "No, it's fine. And you aren't forcing me to do anything. This is all my own choice."

That was true. No one could probably force Switzerland to do anything.

"Just relax. Don't worry about it."

The meeting commenced shortly after America came in late. Estonia thought that he would do fine, as long as he didn't have to speak. That is, until a folded piece of paper landed in front of his laptop. He blinked and looked up to see Prussia staring dead at him with a wild grin on his face. He mouthed, "Open it."

So Estonia did, and a small note was written inside it.

"You're cute. I'm awesome. We should fuck."

Good god, this was going to be a long meeting.

Estonia sighed, and put the paper aside; he would throw it away later. But shortly after, a balled up piece of paper hit him in the side of his head. He heard a few chuckles and, angry, looked in the direction of the throw. Some nation he didn't know was smirking at him. He didn't say a thing, but his expression clearly said, "Go on; I dare you to do something."

And Estonia very well couldn't, so he un-balled the paper because something told him it was another note. And it was. It was a very graphic and horrifying note.

"I heard that you were a virgin and that's something I like in my potential fucks. In fact, I think we should get together sometime and do that. Either way, you'll be riding me in no time and, trust me, baby, you won't be able to resist. I can see it now: your glasses splattered with my cum after I teach you how to suck my cock. Then, I'll—"

Estonia looked up, beet-faced, and quickly balled the paper back up. He couldn't, and he wasn't going to, read any more. He was probably more insulted than he had ever been in his life. He was right to have brought Switzerland with him; he might not have made it into the room without getting jumped otherwise.

Then, because he decided that the universe just hated him, his phone began vibrating in his pocket. Somehow, he was wary of answering it. But, no, it could have been something important from his boss, so he fished it out of his pocket and it was what he thought it would be: a text message. From an unknown number too. He opened it and it read:

_Hey bby, i herd that u like tchnlgy, so how bout u let me run a systms check on ur hard drive._

He was going to strangle Poland. He wasn't even going to give the blonde a chance to explain. He was just going to walk over to him, put his hands around the Pole's skinny neck, and kill him in cold blood. Then he would leave an empty bottle of vodka there to frame Russia, just because the bastard probably deserved it too.

"Are you okay?"

Estonia snapped out of his macabre fantasies and realized that he had been staring at his cell phone's screen. He put it away and gave a small, reassuring smile to Lichtenstein.

"Yes, thank you."

He pretended not to notice as he heard the sound of a cell phone's camera click coming from the direction of Hungary.

All in all, the meeting went as badly as he thought it would. He received five notes and six text messages that were all either harassing, frightening, or strangely passive aggressive. Honestly, if they were trying to _convince_ him to sleep with them, they were doing a horrible job at it. All Estonia was convinced of was that all of the nations were assholes and he never wanted to be near any of them ever again.

He sighed in relief when the meeting was over and received a sympathetic look from Switzerland (the nation had intercepted one of the notes which was, thankfully, one of the milder ones). They stood and began to leave and Estonia thought it was almost over, when his path was blocked by a taller nation.

It was Sweden.

"Can I talk t' ya?"

Switzerland raised his rifle in suspicion, but Estonia waved him off. "It's okay."

He looked at the larger nation who was still inadvertently glaring down at the two. "Sure."

Sweden pulled him aside to where the rest of the nations couldn't hear them and his frown grew deeper.

"Do ya know wha' happened t' F'nland? He wa' upset last n'ght."

It was Estonia's turn to frown. He didn't realize that Finland and Sweden were back together. Then another thought hit him and he felt worse: Finland and Sweden were back together right after Finland lied horribly to the Baltic. Estonia's bad mood continued to plummet.

"No." He replied back all but icily and Sweden looked even more concerned.

"Are ya sure? H' mentioned ya."

"Yes, I'm sure I don't know what's wrong with him."

Sweden stared for a moment before patting him on the shoulder, comfortingly.

"If you're fightin' w' Tino, ya should talk to 'im. I think h' r'lly needs it."

Estonia felt something in him almost crumble as he watched Sweden walk away. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Finland needed comforting? Finland wasn't the one getting harassed and he wasn't the one who found out his friend wasn't trustworthy. He wasn't the one who had a moment of intimacy that he had been waiting for half his life only to be told it wasn't real.

"Hey…are you alright?"

He must have been standing in the same spot for some time, because Switzerland was staring at him awkwardly as though he wasn't accustomed to looking concerned.

"Yes. I think I need to be alone now, though."

"Will you be okay?" He asked, hoisting the strap of his rifle onto his shoulder.

"As long as I can find a secluded place, I should be fine."

At least he hoped so. God, did he hope so.


	4. Chapter 4

Warnings: Language, explicit sex, TurkeyxEgypt.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: So hm. I'm not sure what I think about this chapter. It was previously written and there's porn in it. And America, but the porn is obviously more important. =p Even if it is pretty crappy IMHO.

-o0o-

The day prior, Estonia found a patio area on one of the roofs of the expansive hotel, and this is where he went after the meeting, laptop in hand. There were a few people there, sitting together with drinks in hand, but no nations, and Estonia was grateful for this.

He sat down in one of the chairs at a stone table with a sigh and admired the view over the city. There were a number of people below, conversing, laughing, and relishing in the rhythm of the street. He wasn't used to the much warmer climate, but for now, the sun beating overhead felt nice and so did the sweet breeze floating through the air.

What he liked most, however, was that the entire hotel had WiFi, and he opened his laptop, ready to get to work on things he might have missed do to being constantly harassed in the meeting. But as soon as he turned the laptop on, a problem became immediately known to him: he couldn't see what was on the screen. The sun directly above him was producing such a terrible glare on the screen and his glasses, it was all but impossible to see.

Well, that was great. So much for his plan to get work done.

With a frustrated sigh, he shut down his laptop and closed it, but he still wasn't ready to move from his spot. It still felt nice, regardless of whether or not he could work. In fact, perhaps it was better that he couldn't work. He hadn't relaxed in a while, and the sun above still felt so warm and inviting.

He leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes for a moment, savoring the breeze tousling his hair. He took a deep breath, ready to just let all of the crap bothering him go away.

And he must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, a pressure was being lifted off of his face, and Estonia blearily opened his eyes to see America with his glasses in his hands. He frowned, confused, wondering where the superpower had come from.

America chucked weakly, clearly embarrassed that he had been caught, and put the glasses back down on Estonia's laptop.

"Sorry, it's just annoying when I fall asleep with Texas on, so I figured, you know…" He trailed off with a faint blush, and Estonia picked up and put his glasses back on.

"Um, thank you, I guess," he gave a small nod to the other nation, hoping that America would take the hint and go away, but no, the thanking caused the superpower to grin, and he promptly sat down in the seat across the Baltic nation.

"You know, I was wondering if you…"

Estonia sighed and raised his hand, cutting the other nation off. Normally, he would have never been so brash, but he was getting sick of this bet and he didn't want to hear another thing about anything involving sex or his virginity. He tried to ignore the heat that rose to his cheeks.

"Mr. America, I'm sorry I have to be so blunt, but if you're asking about sex, the answer is no."

America blinked at the statement, and then laughed in his normally boisterous fashion.

"No, I'm not," he shook his head, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to have sex with you! But in America, it's generally frowned upon to get that far without even the first date, which is what I came to ask about."

There was a pause. Estonia frowned as the other nation suddenly leaned forward, a strange enthusiasm sparkling in his sky-blue eyes.

"Will you go out with me?"

The Baltic nation must have looked incredulous, because America leaned back, scratching his head in confusion.

"Hmm, well that always works in the movies…" Then his face suddenly brightened as an idea came to him.

"Hey, you wanna watch a movie with me? I was going to watch something with Canada tonight. I mean, it's going to be in my room since I don't really know what's playing here in Madrid. And it'd probably be in Spanish anyway," he trailed off with a frown, before remembering his original point.

"Anyway, I think you'll really like the movie choice," He flashed another grin that somehow made Estonia smile a little to himself, if only for the great enthusiasm the other nation held.

"I'm sorry Mr. America, but I have plans tonight." Of course he didn't really, but he also didn't want to be alone in America's hotel room with the boisterous nation. Who knew what would happen.

America pouted. "Oh, come on! I won't try anything, I promise. And if I forget Canada is there, he'll probably throw something at me if I do."

"Mr. America…"

"Hey, call me Alfred!" And then there were the puppy dog eyes Estonia had heard America often used against England. "So… _please_? I'd love it if you were there tonight."

Estonia sighed, feeling some of his resolve crumble.

"The movie we watch better not one of your action movies," he half-joked, remembering when he made a movie himself and America took a dramatic, action movie approach for the ending credits.

America raised his right hand and grinned. "It won't be. Scout's honor."

"…Alright, I'll come."

"Yes!" He cheered. "Okay, meet me in my room, number 1152, at six."

He winked before getting up and exiting, leaving Estonia wondering what the hell did he just get himself into.

-o0o-

After Estonia left the roof-patio, he wandered to where he knew a lot of the nations wouldn't be: the fitness area. He himself didn't plan on doing exercise, but wanted to see if there was any place he could seclude himself away in. To his surprise, and delight, there was a sauna, and from the almost unnatural silence the entire area held, he could assume that very few people, if any, were there.

He got a locker key and towel from a bored-looking attendant (apparently, the place really was practically empty, except for its pools) and removed his clothes and glasses in the locker room. It was rather eerie, being the only one in there, but he liked the privacy. It meant that he didn't have to worry about his fellow nations.

Once naked, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked to the adjoined area to where the sauna rooms were. It was strange to him, the rooms were single sex, which wasn't something that was really done at his home, but he didn't mind much.

Estonia hung his towel on a rack outside and entered the steamy room gratefully. It almost felt like being back at home, back when this whole mess of his virginity hadn't caused him so much trouble.

He sat down on the wooden bench and sighed, contented. If only he could just stay there forever and not have to face the world (literally) again. He breathed in the heavy, hot air, and closed his eyes. It really was nice.

Estonia wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, relaxing, but he was quite startled when the door opened and a nation walked in.

That nation being Turkey.

Estonia froze for a moment, terrified that his worst fears about the bet would come true, but the other nation sat opposite to him, not even looking in Estonia's direction (though this was hard to affirm because of the mask) and it seemed that as far as Turkey was concerned, Estonia was as invisible as Canada, which he didn't mind in the least bit, and Estonia let out a tiny sigh of relief.

It appeared that the other nation was there the same reason Estonia was: to enjoy a sauna. Turkey leaned against the bench, his arms coming up to lounge on the back, his legs falling open, and Estonia couldn't help to follow the movement.

His eyes traveled from Turkey's broad, tanned chest and shoulders, down his toned abs, and followed the trail of dark, curly hair from his naval all the way down.

A faint blush made its way to Estonia's cheeks at this, and he quickly adverted his gaze, feeling a bit like a pervert. It wasn't like he was checking Turkey out or anything, not that the nation wasn't attractive, he was just curious. That was all.

He continued to look in the opposite direction until the door opened again, entering another nation (Estonia was starting to wonder if he had some sort of magnetic ability for other nations now). But it was only Egypt, so the Baltic nation wasn't really that concerned. The other didn't say anything (then again, he rarely did) and his countenance was blank as he sat down next to Turkey. Turkey turned to Egypt and grinned before placing his hand on the other's knee, but the latter's expression stayed the same.

Estonia didn't think much of it. He assumed that Turkey was just messing with his friend, but then the other nation's hand started to move up Egypt's leg as though it were stalking its destination and his fingers rubbed circles along the other's inner thigh.

Estonia blinked, a bit taken back. Okay, that was definitely awkward. He hadn't been expecting that, but as long as it didn't escalade much further; Turkey was still likely trying to make both him and Egypt uneasy.

Egypt finally looked at the Turk, his expression only revealing a raised eyebrow when Turkey's hand rested mere centimeters away from his vital regions. There was a pregnant pause where Turkey's grin grew wider and suddenly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against the other's and Egypt leaned in as well, making the kiss deeper as his eyes closed. Any hopes of chaste were immediately lost as the kiss became more frantic and Turkey tangled his hand in the other's short, dark hair, tilting Egypt's head back so his tongue could have better access inside the Egyptian's mouth.

The Baltic nation coughed, trying to get their attention. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but he had to make them to stop. They had to have realized he was there, right? They might have been ignorant, but they were ruining the sanctity of the sauna and he planned to tell them that. It was not a sexual place and—

Estonia's train of thought was ruined and his eyes widened considerably when Turkey reached between Egypt's legs, cupping his quickly stiffening manhood and Estonia tried to look away, he really did, but his attention was drawn back to the scene by a deep moan.

The Baltic nation felt his face heating up. This was beyond what was appropriate; had all of the nations gone insane? They must have, and he must have been going insane too, because he could not tear his eyes away from Turkey plunging his tongue into the other's mouth and Egypt arching his hips into the hand pumping his cock.

Estonia felt a strange heat filling his body, a heat that had nothing to do with the steamy air around him, and most of it resided in his loins at the sight of such passion between the two. The heat grew stronger at Egypt's mewls of pleasure smothered by Turkey's mouth, and his mouth went completely dry when the kiss was broken so Egypt could bend forward, over the Turk's lap, and languidly lick the side of his growing erection.

If at all possible, Estonia's flush grew deeper, and he now felt the childish need to cover his eyes with his hands. Didn't they realize he was there? Or did they just not care? The warm knot in his stomach burned hotly when Egypt, after licking it, took the other nation's head in his mouth, and Estonia felt his own cock begin to twitch to life.

Goodness, was he really being turned on by this? He felt like France, or some other creepy voyeur getting off on watching others, but that didn't deter the uncomfortable heat growing in his groin. He knew that he shouldn't be aroused by the spectacle. He knew that he shouldn't be watching Egypt's tongue wrapped around Turkey's head and gliding up his penis, and imagining it on his own. He was semi-erect when Egypt brought his hand up to grasp the part of Turkey's cock that his mouth couldn't reach and began to bob up and down on the length.

The Baltic nation felt impossibly hot, his heartbeat beating heavily in his throat and his nipples inexplicably hard. His hands had quickly balled into fists, nails digging into his palm to try and distract him from his own, throbbing arousal, but it did nothing. He was fully erect by the time Egypt pulled away, leaving Turkey's thick cock shining with saliva and precum. It pressed against his stomach, upright and proud, flushed with blood, and Estonia belatedly realized there was no way he could leave the room without being noticed.

He was hard, painfully so, and it would look incredibly incriminating for them to notice him when they were in the middle of doing—_that._

He tried to take a deep breath to calm down and to focus on something else, anything else, but it was no use. His eyes refused to stop watching, even as Egypt crawled over Turkey's lap so his knees were on either side of his legs, which told the Baltic nation that this was going into seriously dangerous territory.

Then, Egypt spoke—the first time Estonia had ever heard him say anything, actually—his soft voice cutting through the tense, sexual air of the room.

_"I've already prepared myself to save you time…"_

It wasn't in a language that the Baltic nation knew, possibly Arabic, but Turkey laughed jovially, and responded in an equally foreign tongue. He then kissed the other briefly on the lips before his hands traveled down Egypt's backside, groping at the pert globes of flesh, and Estonia's heart sped up, either from fear or anticipation.

Turkey ran a finger down the other nation's crack until it reached his entrance and traced around the rim before slowly inserting it inside. Egypt made some sort noise of pleasure, arching downward when it dug deeper in side of him.

Estonia's cock twitched in response, reminding him of how much he wanted to be touched and how embarrassing it was to have to watch this. He squirmed in his seat, wanting nothing more than to leave or at least to have a chance to touch himself. He bit his lip at Egypt's groan when a second finger was added, joining the pumping of the first.

_"Alright, is that good enough?"_

_"I already told you that I was ready…"_

_"Heh, don't sound so eager."_

When Turkey removed his fingers, Egypt lowered himself a little so that the other's cock brushed alluringly against his crack and Estonia's own arousal throbbed painfully at the sight. They were really about to do this, he thought, with less apprehension than before but twice as much embarrassment.

Then, Turkey put his hands around the other's hips to steady him, Egypt parted his cheeks and Estonia watched inch by thick inch of Turkey's cock slide inside of the other nation and it was enough to make Estonia go insane. He couldn't take it anymore. There was no positive outcome to any of this (either him leaving and having them notice him or him staying and having them notice him) and Estonia was sure his erection couldn't take it any longer either.

He took a deep breath. There were only two ways this could go, he thought, the resolution clear in his mind. Without thinking, he stood, and exited the sauna as quickly as possible.

There was a pause when he was about to close the door and noticed that both nations were staring dead at him. Egypt's expression was blank as his head rested on Turkey's broad chest and Turkey was grinning. It wouldn't be until much later that Estonia would realize that the whole scene had been an invitation for him to join in, but only two things were going through Estonia's mind at the moment and that was embarrassment and arousal. He quickly shut the door.

Estonia grabbed his towel and wrapped it around him, though it did nothing in hiding what was obvious. He speedily made his way to the shower area of the locker room (thankful that each shower had a curtain) and stepped into the small, cubic area before turning on the cold water.

The icy temperature worked great for cooling down the temperature of his skin, but did nothing for the heat dwelling inside of him. He was still perfectly hard.

With a sigh, he wrapped a hand around his cock and began to work away, images of the previous scene inadvertently flashing through his mind. It wasn't long before—he was inexperienced after all— his cum splattered against the tile and rinsed down the drain with the rest of the shower water. With another sigh he pressed his forehead against the cold tile and shut his eyes.

Today was becoming an impossibly long day.


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings: Language, more angst.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: Some new characters in this chapter guys. And America! (Also, it might help if you watch the movie _Stranger than Fiction_ before reading this chapter.)

-o0o-

After the fiasco in the sauna, Estonia wasn't sure if he even wanted to face America that afternoon, but no, he had made a promise and he tried his hardest to not break those.

So after much fretting during the day, he found himself in front of America's hotel door (he just _knew_ this was a bad idea) around six, dressed casually so the other wouldn't get the wrong idea, and knocked on the door. Less than a second later, it swung open with such force, it startled him. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or frightened that the door opened so quickly.

"Hi, Estonia!"

America grinned and Estonia took in the other nation's appearance. He was much more casual than he had been at the end of the meeting, which Estonia was glad for, decked out in sweat pants and a Mountain Dew tee-shirt.

But then again, the American was only not casual when he was forced to be.

"Hello, M—Alfred," Estonia smiled faintly at the taller nation. This was going to be horrid, he knew it.

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" America clapped him on the shoulder and ushered him into the hotel room.

There were two beds and a blonde who looked eerily similar to America sat on one of them and smiled at him when he came in. Estonia assumed it was his brother…Canada? Was that his name?

"See? I told you Mattie would be here!"

The other deadpanned. "I'm only here because his boss won't allow him to stay in a hotel room by himself. He nearly burned down the last one."

America flushed, indignant. "Hey, all I did was microwave a burger."

"With the aluminum foil still on it."

America, clearly embarrassed, changed the subject. "So anyway, Matt picked the movie. It's super gay in my opinion, but it isn't an action movie."

"You only think it's gay because you always cry at the end of it."

"I do not!"

"Do too."

It was at that moment, a beeping noise went off. America's eyes lit up and he shouted, "Popcorn's ready!" before going over to the little kitchenette and retrieving it. He got out a bowl and told Estonia to make himself at home.

Estonia, feeling awkward still standing in the doorway, went and sat down on the bed opposing Canada's. He wasn't sure how to take the sympathetic look the other nation gave him.

"Alright!" America declared once he got his popcorn and he promptly sat down on the floor between the two beds. He picked up a PS3 controller (which made Estonia smile a little because of course America would bring something like that to a world conference) and played the DVD from there.

-o0o-

The movie they watched was called _Stranger than Fiction_.

It certainly wasn't an action movie, like America said, but a strange little romantic comedy. It was touching and funny and, near the end of it, Estonia could help but to feel a little sympathetic when he looked over and saw a tear rolling down America's cheek, just like Canada said would happen. But he pretended not to notice, and if America saw him looking, he wouldn't say a thing.

More importantly, it struck a chord deep inside Estonia.

Perhaps it was because the title character, Harold Crick, reminded Estonia a little of himself; he was calculating, studious, and a little socially awkward. Even if Estonia wasn't as extreme Harold (Estonia swore he'd ask someone to kill him the day that he became obsessive enough to actually count brush strokes while brushing his teeth), the sentiment was still there.

And what was crushing was realizing that even with Harold Crick's neurotic tendencies, he wasn't even a virgin. Not that it did much good for Estonia to compare his lack of a sex life to that of a fictional character's, but he couldn't help but think about it. Even though Harold did everything punctually, counted brush strokes and tie loops, he could still lower his guard enough to love someone, to have sex with them. So why couldn't Estonia?

Because the problem wasn't with want, because he had urges just like any other nation (even if he didn't indulge in them very often); the problem was with lowering his guard.

When he much younger, fearing all of the nations being invaded, conquered, and changed around him, he promised himself that he would never give up his virginity willingly, unless it was with someone he loved. Which, admittedly, had caused more hurt in the long run, especially now, but he never regretted the vow.

No, what he regretted was that it was so damn hard for him to get close enough to a nation to love them. And while it was true that it was especially hard for him now to trust anyone because _everyone_ had motives (Finland had proved that), he wasn't exactly accepting and open before.

"Hey, did you like the movie?"

Estonia snapped out of his train of thought and nodded, trying to find his voice.

"Yes…I thought it was a really interesting concept."

America smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

There was a moment of silence, Estonia not knowing how to respond to the statement, much less that smile, when Canada stood.

"Oh, gee, would you look at the time?" The northern nation looked at his watch with barely feigned concern.

"I've got to go see a guy about a horse."

America frowned. "What does that even mean? That better not be slang for, 'I'm going to go sleep with commie bastards!'"

Canada only offered his brother a slight smile. "We aren't sleeping together Al; I told you that," he said, and ignoring his brother's sputters of indignation, he walked towards the door. Before exiting, he paused.

"Also, you should know what that phrase means; you invented it."

America cursed and Canada left, hearing his brother shout after him. Once he was gone, America shook his head and shut down his PS3.

"I don't know where I went wrong with him! I have to remind him the dangers of communism at least once a month!"

Estonia quirked a small smile at that but didn't respond, watching the actions of the nation in front of him. Then America turned around with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Don't tell Canada I said this, but that movie actually makes me think a little, you know?" He got up and sat next to Estonia on the bed, a little too closely in Estonia's opinion.

"It makes me think of us as nations and how much of us is our own free will and how much of it is our people's and government's."

Estonia nodded, still not responding.

"I mean, it would suck if it was like Harold Crick and our lives were just completely controlled, but I don't think it's like that. I mean, I don't _want_ it to be like that." He paused, licking his lips nervously and Estonia couldn't help but to follow the action.

"Our people don't have a strong affinity towards each other. It's not that they hate each other or anything, but we seemingly have nothing to do with each other, other than trade and the services we provide." He was closer now, his sky blue eyes shining with that look that Estonia had seen on many American movies and it made his hear beat faster. He felt his face heating up, even though nothing had happened yet.

"But I'm sure we have free will and…I-I want to be more than just trading partners," he stuttered slightly with a flush. America was so close, his breath ghosted against Estonia's lips. He smiled timidly, his eyes searching for the other's.

"And I really, _really_ want to kiss you now," he admitted and Estonia could only nod dumbly.

America took that as permission.

He closed his eyes, leaned in, and their lips touched, just the barest of touches. And for a moment, it was nice. For a moment, Estonia didn't even care about his virginity, because he could feel the force that America was using to hold back his strength. It was there in the hand coming up to cup his cheek and how the other deepened the kiss without going further.

But something Estonia's mind flashed back to the night before with Poland, and how the lack of physical affection for so long drove him into the make out session. The same with Finland, who he even trusted, and that chaste kiss that promised so much more, that made Estonia want so much more.

Was he kissing America for the same reason? The promise of physical affection because he was tired of being so damn lonely? It went against the promise to himself, sure, but didn't he just tell himself he needed to be more trusting?

The truth was, he liked America, and wanted to trust him. And he wanted to trust America not to take the kissing any further, to show that this wasn't a blatant attempt for sex.

But the kiss was progressing faster than he would have liked and when he felt a tongue press against the crevice of his lips, pushing inward, Estonia felt a flutter of panic deep in his gut. He tried to move his head to break the kiss, but America's hand was too strong, locking him there, and the panic grew stronger as the other's tongue successfully made it into his mouth.

No, no, no, he thought, frantically trying to pull away. He didn't want this; he didn't want this if the other was going to be forceful.

The panic became too much and, not knowing what else to do to get away, he brought up his hand and slapped the other, _hard._ Even though the sound of it echoed throughout the room, it probably hurt his hand more than it hurt America, who stopped, presumably out of shock.

As soon as Estonia was able to pull away, he got up and backed up until his back hit a wall. He was breathing heavily, and his face was flushed, and judging from America's still shocked expression, he was probably overreacting. But at the same time, no, he wasn't.

America stared until the shock washed away into horror, and he looked down at the floor, ashamed, and raked a heavy hand through his hair.

"Shit, I didn't mean—I mean," he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, "Fuck, I'm sorry."

Estonia nodded, but still didn't back away from the wall as though he expected America to attack him.

"It's—it's okay," he lied. But, no, it really wasn't.

"It's just…my strength gets the better of me sometimes. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Estonia repeated and after a small silence he announced, "I have to go."

America nodded, understanding what he meant.

"Good night," he said once he got to the door. America didn't respond, still looking at the floor, so Estonia left the other in his silence. Once the door closed, he didn't see America punch his bed hard enough to break it before burying his face in his hands, frustrated.

Estonia refused to think about the scene until he made it to the stairwell (there was less of a chance for him to run into other nations that way), where he sat down, exhausted. He was emotionally exhausted, and he felt so stupid.

How could he be so stupid? He thought, banging his head softly against the railing. This was why he still had his virginity; he clearly made poor choices with the people that he decided to like.

He kept banging his head, perhaps faintly hoping for a concussion so he could go home, until he heard a deep voice with a heavy accent speak behind him, startling him.

"Hey, you alright? That can't be good for your head."

He looked up to see a large man (Nation? He definitely felt like a nation) with dark skin and dreadlocks. The other frowned upon seeing Estonia's face, likely catching the same nation-vibe.

"You know, you look familiar…" He muttered and Estonia wondered how this nation managed to not notice him being pointed at in the meeting earlier that day. Or perhaps he had and just forgot.

"My name is Estonia," he smiled faintly. "You probably know me from the huge bet going on."

"That's _you_?" The nation sat down next to him, looking strangely amazed. Estonia wasn't sure how to take that, but when the nation seemed to realize that the other didn't share the same sentiment, he looked sympathetic. "That really sucks, you know?"

"I know," Estonia muttered, but the other didn't seem to hear him.

"Who told you about it? I heard it was secret."

Estonia paused, not wanting to give Lithuania away as the culprit.

"Oh, it's okay, you can tell, I'm not involved anyway. I've got my own little _amante_ to worry about," he winked and Estonia suddenly got the impression that this person was not as nearly as intimidating as he looked.

"My brother told me," he offered vaguely.

"Oh, well that's good! I would hate to be in that situation and not know what was going on." There was a small pause. "Oh!" He grinned, a warm and friendly smile, and extended his hand. "My name is Cuba, by the way."

Estonia hesitantly took the other's hand and shook it, noticing Cuba's large hand enveloping his own.

"Cuba," he repeated softly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, my friend." Their hands dropped. "Hey, me and _mi amante_ are going to go get ice cream later. No offence, but you look like you need a break."

Was it that obvious?

"Do you wanna come with? The shop is a…how do you say? 'Hole in the wall'? No other nations will be there, and you can always use ice cream, sí?"

It must have been obvious that he was hiding. Estonia frowned and weighed the pros against the cons of going with him.

He didn't know this Cuba person well enough to trust him, but hell, a complete stranger was probably more trustworthy than the people he actually knew, barring his brothers. Plus, he said he was taken and, for some reason, Estonia believed him.

It wasn't like going to get ice cream with a guy and his boyfriend would end up has terrible as everything else had in the past two days. And if it did, he hoped there would be enough alcohol that he wouldn't care. That was what he needed. A good, hard drink.

"Do they serve drinks also?" He asked somewhat miserably and Cuba laughed. It was a rich, deep sound coming from his belly and it made Estonia feel silly.

"Sí, amigo, there are drinks also," he smiled and stood, extending a hand to the other. "So what do you say?"

Estonia took the other's hand and stood. He thought back to the movie he saw earlier, the almost fate of Harold before the man changed his ways. He thought about how much happier Harold was to have thrown caution to the wind, to have fallen for a complete stranger. Estonia didn't want his phobia of fun to become his wrongly timed wristwatch.

"Sure. I'm in."


	6. Chapter 6

Warnings: Language, more angst.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: I'm sorry for being so late. D: School and all, you know?

- -o0o- -

Estonia followed Cuba out of the hotel and down the main street with the starlight and street lamps shining above. He wondered what he was getting himself into, but hearing the cheerful chattering of the other, it made him sort of not worry.

The air of the night was still warm and sweet and it wrapped around Estonia like a comforting blanket and, even though it was pretty dark out, the streets were still alive like they had been earlier, thrumming with beats and good feelings. It made Estonia feel small, somewhat, how there was such a large, overwhelming presence of happiness bleeding through the streets.

"So here we are!" Cuba announced as they stopped outside a small shop that was sandwiched between two stores. Cuba was right; you wouldn't have noticed if it you didn't know it was there.

They walked inside and Estonia froze when he saw a blonde seated at one of the tables. The person looked eerily similar to America and he could only think what did the other nation want? Estonia had made it clear that he didn't want to be near him.

But then the blonde spotted them and got up as Cuba rushed over to him and they kissed and Estonia was shocked until he belatedly realized it was _Canada_, not America. He wondered how the other would take the date being over so soon.

Once Canada and Cuba separated, Estonia gave a little awkward wave to the other with a quiet, "Hello."

Canada blinked, clearly surprised. "Um, hi. I...I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

Cuba looked back and forth between the two before clapping them both on the shoulder. "You two know each other? Great!" At this, both blondes chuckled weakly.

"I'm going to order for us, 'kay? Do you know what you want?" He turned to Estonia and the Baltic shook his head. He didn't even know what was on the menu (nor could he read half the menu) and he doubted that Cuba would order him an alcoholic drink even if he asked.

"No, I'll take whatever you give me."

Cuba smiled at him before turning to Canada and kissing him on the forehead. "And I know what you want, mi querido. Maple ice cream, right?"

Canada blushed and nodded and Cuba left to go tell their orders to a person at the counter. Estonia and Canada sat down at one of the quaint tables and tried to ignore the awkwardness of it all. It was swimming around them like thick oil and Estonia wondered who was going to say it first, but then Canada spoke.

"I can only assume that, because you're here now, that the date with Al didn't go well," he looked up apologetically. "How bad was it?"

"I...um," He started, awkwardly, not really wanting to admit what had happened, "I kind of slapped him."

Canada groaned, "oh god," and buried his face in his hands. "I'm going to have to be damage control, you know?" He answered, his voice muffled, and put his hands down but he still looked miserable. "What did he do?"

"He kissed me, but when I tried to break the kiss he wouldn't let me go," Estonia looked down at his hands on the table. "That sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"No," Canada assured him. "No, it's not. If anything, it sounds like Al was being a douche, but he probably didn't do it on purpose. Sometimes his strength gets the better of him."

"Yeah, he said that."

Estonia looked up when he felt a hand on his. "Don't worry about it," the other offered with a small smile and Estonia tried to feel better, he really did.

"Okay, so our order will take awhile," Cuba announced, startling both of them a little, as he sat down next to Canada, giving him a little peck on the cheek. He looked back and forth between the two and asked, "How did you two meet anyway?"

Both of the blondes looked at each other, unsure of how to answer.

"Um..."

"Well..."

"He was with my brother this afternoon," Canada admitted, eventually deciding to tell the truth. "They were on a date, but…it didn't go very well." He winced.

Cuba straightened, eyes narrowed, and looked at Estonia with such contempt is made the blonde want to shrink into his seat.

"Good," he answered, which earned him a kick under the table by his boyfriend.

"Cuba!"

"I'm sorry, but it's true," Cuba crossed his arms, impassive. "Nothing good comes from that capitalist son of a bitch and it's best you forget about him."

"Don't say that," Canada pleaded, "Al's got some good qualities."

"Like what?"

"Well…"

"No, he's right," Estonia said and adjusted his glasses, putting back on his shield. "It's probably best if I just forget about what happened."

Their conversation was interrupted when a waiter placed their ice creams in front of them and told them, at least Estonia assumed that's what he said, to enjoy. Canada had the maple ice cream that Cuba promised him, Cuba had some sort of brownie sundae and…Estonia really didn't know what he had. It was in a tall glass and covered in whipped cream and chocolate syrup, so he was pretty satisfied.

He put a spoonful of it in his mouth and looked the glass, amazed. It was delicious. It was more than delicious, it was orgasmic. It was creamy, smooth, not too sweet, subtle in some other flavors, and it had a taste of something that was really familiar.  
With the introduction of ice cream, the tension in the room melted and Cuba smiled at Estonia, at his reaction, the previous conversation apparently forgotten.

"Good?"

Estonia nodded, quickly digging in for another spoonful. He hadn't relaxed and eaten ice cream, or eaten _anything_ for the pleasure of it for that matter, in forever. He felt like he had been missing something in his life up until that point.

But his enthusiasm for the treat slowed down and he looked at the other two, who were huddled close together—their shoulders were touching—and they were shooting each playful looks while Cuba tried to put a spoonful of his ice cream into the other's mouth (Canada was refusing, but holding in his laughter from the looks of it). Estonia couldn't help but think he hadn't seen true affection like that in awhile either and also, he felt like a third wheel.

"So Estonia," Cuba began casually after he successfully got the other to try the ice cream. "What's your whole deal on the bet thing? Like, do you even want to lose your virginity?" That earned Cuba another kick underneath the table.

"What?"

Canada flushed. "You-you can't just _ask_ someone something like that!"

"I was curious!"

"It's rude!"

Estonia, who had been hiding his flush by staring at his hands, spoke up. "No, I'm not—I'm not even sure, really. I don't know what sex is like enough to know if I'd actively enjoy it—"

"Trust me, amigo, you'll enjoy it." Cuba interrupted with a smile. He shut up when Canada gave him a pointed look.

"And plus," Estonia's voice grew quieter, "I don't know if there's anyone I can trust any more, other than my brothers. I don't want to be coddled, but I want my first time to be with someone who cares that it is, not with someone who's just looking for a—" His cheeks darkened and his nails became even more fascinating. "A quick fuck."

Canada smiled, "There's nothing wrong with that."

Cuba nodded. "Yeah, and I'm sure there're people you can still trust."

Estonia shook his head, "No, the bet, remember? Most of the nations are involved in a competitive sport that involves taking my virginity. I doubt I can trust them."

"I'm sorry," Canada offered ruefully. "That was a real dick move, whoever started it."

"Well, I always said I that I would like a little more attention," he smiled bitterly and dug his spoon angrily into his ice cream. "I guess be careful with what you wish for."

"Think of it this way, my friend," started Cuba, ever the optimist, "you've only got a little over a week and then it'll all be over."

That was true. Estonia hadn't thought of it that way. "Yeah, I guess your right." He dug into the ice cream and ate another spoonful or three. It was becoming addictive.

"Honestly, I wish my first time was a little more meaningful." Canada said absently and both nations looked at him, curious.

"Oh?"

Canada looked at the other two's expressions, blushing, realizing what he had just said. "Don't give me that look." He turned to Cuba. "I thought I already told you."

"No, you did not tell me that," Cuba answered, leaning back, with a playful smile.

"Oh. Well, long story short my first was England. It…it was pretty bad," he winced.

"It can't have been that bad," Estonia tried to offer.

Canada buried his face in his hands. "England was half drunk and almost mistook me for Alfred. I hit my head on the headboard. Repeatedly. It was pretty bad."

Cuba patted the other's shoulder comfortingly. "Well, think of it this way: at least now you know what a good time is like."

"Yeah..."

It was then that Estonia's spoon hit the glass at the bottom of the cup and he realized he had been eating a lot more than he thought he had. It really was addictive and he was shocked to find he wasn't suffering from a brain freeze. He wanted more, but he didn't want to impose on Cuba's hospitality.

"Hey, do you want another one?" Cuba asked suddenly, probably catching the other's forlorn expression as he stared into the glass.

"I...I don't want to cause you trouble."

Cuba waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense! Anyway, this is all on Spain's tab. Order as much as you like." He then called a waiter over (after explaining to Canada that everything he did in the country was on Spain's tab; they had a weird, strained relationship, and this was the older man trying to win him over) and pointed to Estonia's empty glass.

"Uno más, por favor," he ordered cheerily and the waiter nodded and took the glass away.

-o0o-

Four or so ice creams later and Estonia began to notice that something wasn't quite right. His mouth seemed a whole lot looser, detailing all of the horrors he had faced in the past two days, his body temperature felt higher, and he was pretty sure he couldn't stop eating even if he tried.

He finally hit his breaking point when he tried to dig into his fifth (sixth?) glass, but his spoon wouldn't make it in for some reason and Cuba saw fit to finally pull the glass away from him.

"Whoa there, amigo, I think you've had enough."

Estonia stared, his face flushed and eyes wide. "What...what's in it?" Needless to say, he felt more than a little intoxicated, which was ridiculous, because it was _ice cream_.

"Well, probably ice cream, Irish Cream, vodka, chocolate syrup—"

"Vodka!" Canada exclaimed, shooting an accusing glance at his boyfriend. "You gave him booze!"

Cuba shrugged, "He asked for it."

Estonia looked at the glass, amazed. No wonder he thought something had tasted familiar, it was the vodka. Well, shit, that made a lot of sense, now that he thought about it.

"I'm okay, really. I've been drunker than this loads of times."

Canada's concerned expression didn't exactly waver at the confession. "I think we should take you back to your room."

"But I'm fine!"

Canada stood and went over to the other, giving his boyfriend a heated look from across the table. "Are you going to help me?"

Cuba held up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright, Dios, let me take care of the bill."

"Come on." Canada hauled Estonia up by the arm easily (who tried to struggle, but most of his attention had to be focused on his balance) and Estonia conceded unhappily to let them take him back.

It was a lot later than he thought it was when they reached outside. The previous livelihood of the streets was gone or fading and Estonia remained an unhappy camper the whole way, wanting to get drunker with at least the knowledge that he was doing so. However, his balance was a little wobbly, and he often had to lean onto Canada for support.

"You know, I'm older than the two of you. I shouldn't stand for this," he complained, but they were ignoring him.

When the trio made it back to the hotel, they found an irate Switzerland waiting for them in the lobby. Not exactly, wanting to confront him, Cuba and Canada dropped Estonia off and quickly turned the other way. Estonia, more so than not, was oblivious to the other nation's anger.

"Where have you been!" Switzerland demanded, arms crossed.

"I was eating ice cream," Estonia replied back, not exactly understanding the full meaning of the question. Switzerland paused and leaned in closer, looking up at Estonia's half-lidded eyes.

"Are you _drunk_?" He asked, incredulous.

"Maybe," Estonia smiled.

Switzerland took a deep breath, realizing quickly that it wouldn't do any good to be angry at someone who was intoxicated.

"Look: keep your phone on, okay? I can't exactly protect you if I don't know where the hell you are."

Estonia nodded, though the information probably would be lost by the time morning came around. Switzerland sighed and grabbed the other's arm with a "Let's go," and Estonia had no choice to follow though he complained of being manhandled so much in one night.

They arrived at Estonia's hotel room, which he had made a point to avoid in the past twenty-four hours, and the first thing Estonia noticed was that there were all sorts of bouquets surrounding, and blocking the path in front of, his door. The second thing he noticed was Finland standing a few feet away, looking meek.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, giving a look to Switzerland, but he at least had the decency to sound ashamed. Something in Estonia's mind told him no, that he had been heartbroken by this individual, but his mouth said yes for some reason. Once they were standing a considerable distance away, Finland began pouring out apologies.

"I'm sorry, Eduard, I really am. There aren't any excuses, I just wasn't thinking, you know? The bet sounded like a silly little game with a big prize, and I didn't take into account that it was someone's feelings, someone important's feelings, that I would be messing with. It was stupid and childish, and you have every right to hate me."

Estonia frowned, only partially processing what the Finn was saying; the other part of him still listening to the voice that told him his heart was broken.

"It's okay, I forgive you Tino."

He felt satisfied and doubly sickened by that satisfaction when Finland beamed at him, hopeful.

"Really?"

"No."

The other stared, confused, with vague annoyance and anger written over his face.

"I just thought you should know what it feels like to be lied to by someone you trust."

Finland straightened up and he crossed his arms, eyes narrow. "Are you drunk?"

"That's not important, Tino. What's important is that I trusted you, god, I _trusted_ you." He shook his head, the booze making it harder for him to articulate his feelings.

"If I didn't know about the bet, I probably would have let you take my virginity."

There was a moment of shocked silence and Finland stared, some sort of strange mixture of horror and amazement in his expression.

"W-what?"

The gears in Estonia's mind shifted direction. Something told him that the conversation was heading towards dangerous territory, so he decided to end it.

"I don't want to see you right now, Tino. It's—it's too hard. Please go away." He turned, but Finland latched onto his wrist.

"Wait! What did you mean by that? That you would—that you—"

"Hey!" Switzerland interrupted, startling both nations. He pointed his rifle in Finland's direction.

"You heard him; he doesn't want to see you right now. _Leave,_" he scowled.

Finland, affronted, looked at Estonia, looking for some semblance of help from the other, but Estonia offered none. He stared blankly at Finland, looking exhausted and apathetic. Finland let go of the other's wrist, and backed away, looking sheepish once again.

"I get it. Alright. I...I guess I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Estonia didn't respond, so Finland turned around, cheeks blazing, and he shot one last look at the duo before leaving.

After a moment of tense silence, Switzerland asked, "You do have your room key, right?"

Estonia nodded, a little depressed now, and dug into his pocket for it, before handing it to the other. Switzerland kicked a few of the flowers out of the way and opened the door before handing the card back to him.

"Sleep tight, okay?"

He turned to leave, but Estonia paused in his doorway. It was probably the alcohol talking when he asked, "Do you want to come in?"

Switzerland tensed at first and it was a full second before he licked his lips and nodded. "Okay. Yeah, sure, why not?"

What Switzerland didn't expect however was, after the door closed, to have Estonia's lips pressed harshly to his. He could taste sugar and alcohol, Estonia's hands were cold against his face, and he immediately flushed, resembling a tomato. But instinct overtook embarrassment, and he quickly shoved Estonia away, whose balance tottered and he fell to the ground, surprised.

"What the hell!" Switzerland exclaimed, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, though the prominent blush on his face stayed.

"I thought you wanted it," Estonia answered sullenly from his position on the ground. "I thought you wanted my virginity and I figured I could at least be proactive. I just wanna get this over with."

Switzerland shook his head with a sigh, and went over to help Estonia off the floor and onto his bed.

"Look: I'm a guy and, honestly, the thought of your virginity _is_ appealing," he began, and Estonia looked up, shocked. Switzerland quickly turned away with a blush.

"But I deserve more than being your secondhand choice and you deserve a lot better than that too."

Estonia frowned. "But—"

"You're also drunk and I'm not going to take advantage of you." His blush faded some and he looked back at the other blonde. "You aren't thinking clearly. Go get some rest and sober up."

He patted Estonia on the shoulder, which somehow only made Estonia feel worse, and hoisted his rifle back up.

"Good night."

Estonia didn't say anything as he watched Switzerland walk away. His mind still felt fuzzy, clouded by the alcohol, but he was certain he felt lonely and he was certain that he was glad he probably wouldn't remember any of this by morning time.


	7. Chapter 7

Warnings: Language, France

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: Heh, sorry about the wait guys. But for a change of pace, we get a look at backboned!Estonia. :D

-o0o-

Estonia woke up the next day, feeling not only slightly hung over, but like something distinct had happened the previous night. He remembered the ice cream and being with Cuba and Canada. He remembered being with Switzerland and seeing Finland. They talked, he knew that, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what they talked about. He remembered inviting Switzerland in his room and kissing him.

...

"Oh _god_," he groaned into his pillow, when that memory resurfaced. He had made an absolute fool out of himself, how could he even begin to face Switzerland at the meeting that morning? He didn't even _like_ Switzerland that way, he was just so desperate and lonely; he was willing to latch onto any friendly face. Sure, he was drunk, but he probably wouldn't have been pressured into feeling that way if it wasn't for the bet.

And now he felt stupid. Utterly, utterly stupid and it was all that stupid bet's fault. He hadn't been this concerned about his virginity in centuries, and now here he was, getting drunk with strangers and kissing semi-close friends. Maybe this meant it really was time to get rid of it once and for all, if it was going to cause him so much trouble. Because who said that once the conference was over, all the attention, harassment and embarrassment would stop? The nations were horny creatures and Estonia didn't even pretend like some of them wouldn't continue to pursue him if no one won. Sure, it might have gone against his vow, but he was so tired of this.

Estonia could still remember part of his reasoning for kissing Switzerland the other night.

_"I figured I could at least be proactive."_

Well, why the hell couldn't he?

There was no reason, other than his admittedly meek persona, that he couldn't be the "hunter" instead of the "hunted." In fact, why _wasn't_ he being more proactive? He knew that everyone wanted him, which put him at an advantage, not them, now that he thought about it. They were all controlled by the rules of the bet, but that didn't mean he couldn't tweak everything to go his way. He could control this; he could make it right again and he suddenly realized how he could make that happen. It was a genius plan; he didn't know why he didn't think of it earlier.

Empowered, he sat up in bed, only to clutch his head in pain.

"Ow, ow, okay," he muttered to himself, wincing, "I'll work on that later."

-o0o-

After a few cups of strong coffee and a quick run to a printer, he ran into Switzerland in the hallway before the meeting began. It was as awkward as Estonia expected it to be. Both of them were blushing.

"I, uh…I'm sorry about last night. That...that was pretty inappropriate of me."

Switzerland cleared his throat and avoided Estonia's eyes. "It's alright. Just...don't mention it again."

"That's perfectly fine with me."

They both entered the meeting room together like the previous day, only this time Estonia was prepared for it. He went straight to his seat, ignoring the once again lecherous stares of his peers and everything went fine during the majority of the meeting, as far as fine could possibly go. He ignored all attempts to contact him and had just begun to collect his own documents to be handed out to the others, when someone said,

"I think Estonia should pass those out."

He looked up, caught off guard, to realize that whatever Germany was presenting needed to be passed out as well. Germany cleared his throat and there was a general clamor of agreement throughout the room. He looked at Estonia expectantly, and the Baltic knew that he wouldn't get out of this.

With a sigh, he got up (not without thinking to himself how utterly impractical it was when the papers could be passed around) and received the papers from Germany. They were graphs of some sort, Estonia didn't really care; he hadn't been paying attention.

He slowly made his way around to all the nations, trying his best not to fumble with the papers or make an utter fool of himself, which he seemed prone to lately. And Estonia had almost reached his seat when a foot shot out and he suddenly found his face meeting an unfriendly floor and the papers scattered away.

The Baltic felt his cheeks burn hotly and he shut his eyes briefly, overcome by embarrassment, and resentment for everything. Everyone's stares were on him and he could feel it; a few people giggled.

He took a deep breath and tried to gather the rest of the few papers (he was almost back at his seat, damnit!) as he told himself to not let it get to him. Just a few papers more and he could put his plan in place, but then, he felt it.

There was a hand slowly sliding up his ass. It wasn't even a quick slap or grope, but a deliberate feeling up, and if at all possible, Estonia's face heated up more. He froze, turned around, still on his hands and knees, and saw France, who actually had the audacity to wink at him. Thankfully, he was saved from responding by Switzerland, who stood at his seat and pointed a pistol (seriously, how many firearms did he have on him?) in France's direction.

"Hey, asshole, I thought I told you to cut that shit out!"

France smiled and mockingly pressed a hand to his face as though he had forgotten. "_Je suis désolé_, my dear _Suisse_. His bottom just looked so appealing and squeezable, my hand could not help its self!"

"Like hell it couldn't!"

Estonia was so distracted by the argument commencing above him, he was shocked to see America on his knees, gathering the papers he had dropped. The other looked up, sheepish, when he realized he had Estonia's attention and whispered, "Sorry about last night," before quickly handing him the papers and going back to his seat.

It was then that Estonia knew he had to do something.

"France, that's enough," Germany commented wearily from the podium.

Estonia stood and with cheeks still bright he said, "Actually, I'd like to talk about something, if you don't mind."

Germany blinked, surprised, and then conceded. "Okay," he nodded, "the floor is yours."

Estonia muttered a small thank you and made his way to the front of the room, still not quite used to being in such spotlight. He adjusted his glasses and suddenly wished he had planned this out more.

"As you all know, there's a certain bet going on right now," he announced and looked at the nations directly. A few of them had the decency to look ashamed, to look away, while others stood up straighter, surprised that he knew about it.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil your fun, you can still have it but…it's going to be on my terms."

There was a general shift of curiosity in the room, a few murmurs. Estonia cleared his throat and continued.

"I have forms on my desk for anyone who wants to be apart of this, and anyone can take one. There are some things on there I want you all to fill out, questions about yourself, and I'll review all of them and eliminate some. Then, I'll interview ten out of those that I found the most suitable and cut down some after that and so on," Estonia swallowed and looked out at the crowd again. He was finally taking charge of his own destiny, finally looking for his prince charming instead of the other way around.

_Here goes nothing..._

"Who ever is left...can take my virginity."

There was a moment of stunned silence, because clearly no one expected him to be so forward about it and Estonia found himself blushing again for some reason.

"Um, like I said, there are forms on my desk. You can probably start passing those out now," he gave a nod to Switzerland to pass the rest down.

"If you could get those to me before the meeting ends that would be great. And uh, don't put your names on the forms; just remember the number that's on the form. I'll probably have the top ten up by tomorrow and I'll interview you all before the next meeting starts." He looked around. "Any objections?"

There were none, clearly.

"So uh, thanks for your cooperation and stuff. I hope the forms are okay."

Quickly, he removed himself from his presence in front of everyone. Now that that was done and over with, he could only hope this worked.


	8. Chapter 8

Warnings: Language, France

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Authoress Note: There was supposed to be a lot more nations in this chapter, but a certain someone talks too much. Also, no, this fic could not make it without a boob gag. :)

- - - o0o - - -

The forms that Estonia had passed out contained ten simple questions. He didn't tell the nations what he was looking for, just that they should elaborate as much as possible and almost all of the questions had little to do with sex itself. In fact, most of the questions were pretty mundane, or even completely random, but he was sure he could gather input about the person's personality and intelligence from the questions, much like dating websites used to match people together. Not that he believed in the integrity of those sites or anything.

When the meeting was over, the nations left a stack of applications at his seat, and Estonia wondered how he was going to brave through some of the, doubtless, inane replies. He stayed until almost everyone had left, unlike the other meeting, with the exception of Switzerland, his sister and—

"Eduard!"

Estonia looked up just in time before a pair of giant breasts collided with his face.

"Hello, Yekaterina," he mumbled, his face muffled against Ukraine's chest as she hugged him. There was really no point in blushing at that point, it had happened so many times, but he found his face heating up anyway.

"Oh!" She pulled away with a timid smile, realizing what she had done, and Estonia readjusted his glasses, which had been knocked crooked.

"Are you okay, Eduard? I didn't get to go to the meeting yesterday, but I heard about what happened and I wanted to get to you sooner but-but," she was beginning to tear up so Estonia interrupted her with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, I promise. _I'm_ okay."

Her concerned expression didn't waver and she clasped her hands across her chest, worriedly. "Are you sure? This is all just so awful!"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's all thanks to Switzerland," he gestured at the nation, who blinked at the sudden attention brought on him.

"Really?" Ukraine turned to Switzerland with bright eyes, and Switzerland seemed to be having trouble looking at her face.

"Um…"

"I've been so worried because I haven't been able to check up on him or his brothers, but if you've been keeping him safe, thank you!" She pulled him into a hug and even though they were about the same height, Switzerland somehow ended up with his face in her chest. Estonia felt sorry for him, he truly did.

When Ukraine pulled away, Switzerland's face was bright red and he seemed to be avoiding looking at Ukraine's entire person.

"Y-you're welcome."

She turned back to Estonia, oblivious of her effect on the other nation. "I have to go now, but if you need any thing, please don't hesitate to find me. And tell your brothers I said hi!"

"I will."

She gave him a light peck on the cheek before departing. "Bye, Eduard!" She waved and Estonia gave a half-wave back. Switzerland stared after her before giving Estonia a questioning look. Lichtenstein was staring at her chest forlornly.

"What?" Estonia asked when he caught the look.

Switzerland shook his head. "Nothing."

- -o0o- -

After the meeting, Estonia went back up to his secluded patio spot with the stack of papers (should he call them applications? That sounded weird) in hand.

He had just begun to flip through some of the responses (he was right, there were plenty of inane replies) when he heard someone call his name.

He looked up, startled, to see Canada and Cuba, hand-in-hand, walking towards him. His heart slowed down (this was why the bet needed to be over, he thought—it was ridiculous living in this type of fear) and smiled at them. He wondered how they knew where he was, but Canada explained when they were close enough ("Switzerland told us.")

And Estonia suddenly remembered his drunken antics the previous night. He hoped he hadn't caused Canada and Cuba any undue trouble.

"Sorry, about last night," Estonia apologized, wincing. Canada and Cuba exchanged a glance.

"Actually, we—meaning Cuba—wanted to apologize," said Canada, looking at his lover expectantly. Cuba frowned, but apologized anyway.

"Yeah, it was irresponsible of me to give you alcohol without telling you, so Mattie says. I'm sorry."

"And we hope we didn't get you in too much trouble last night with Switzerland."

Estonia flushed, thinking about Switzerland's lips on his and their whole conversation about Estonia's desperation.

"No, no, it's fine," he lied, looking down.

Canada and Cuba exchanged that look again, before promptly sitting down next to him.

"Okay, what really happened?" Cuba asked and Canada interjected with a soft,

"Yeah, you can tell us."

-o0o-

So Estonia ended up telling them everything, while they helped him sort through the forms. It was therapeutic in a way, nice to have some people to talk to. And with their help, he managed to narrow down the replies to ten. They even stuck around long enough to help him put up the number of the forms on the doors of the conference room and he spent the rest of the day fretting how the meetings would go.

But he got up the next day regardless and took a deep breath. This was a good thing he was doing, he told himself. There was nothing to be nervous over.

Switzerland helped him set the interview area up and stood outside the room as a makeshift body guard. And Estonia's jaw nearly dropped when the first interviewee entered.

"Oh, why the shocked look, _Estonie_? Surely you know that I am the expert on love?" France proclaimed as he sat down in the seat across from Estonia and slowly, the Baltic's shocked expression melted away, and he sat up straighter, eyes narrowed.

Why would France bother filling out an application? Surely, he had to know of the humiliation he had caused him.

"Why are you here?" Estonia asked coldly, none too pleased that one of his slots was wasted on France.

France pressed a hand to his chest, dramatically. "What is with the hostility? Hanging around _Suisse_ must be affecting you."

Estonia didn't respond, continuing to glare.

France caught the look and sighed, "Ah, I suppose it must seem a little odd to be here after all of my love touches. But I assure you, there was a reason for them."

Estonia simply leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "And they were?"

France chuckled and shook his head. "Goodness, so forward! Anyway, my reasons were that I did not expect to be given a chance in this competition."

Estonia opened his mouth to respond (at how utterly illogical that was) but France interrupted him.

"Oh, I know! The thought, of _moi_ not being able to win your heart? But I realized that you had to be holding onto your virginity for a very good reason. I mean, you've certainly had the chance to loose it! And I have observed you in meetings before, bored at all those horrible speeches (you see, it is a hobby of mine to observe random nations and try to see what they are thinking). And it was subtle, but there is someone else your heart is held by, I am sure of it. Is that not true?"

Estonia blinked and paused, not expecting to be called out like that.

"No," he eventually asserted, though he honestly wasn't sure anymore.

"Ah, so there is," France leaned his face on his palm and smiled. "At the beginning of this bet, I was certain that this person would win, but now something has changed. This is why I acted the way I did. It was appalling, I know, but you _are_ very cute and if you ended up with this person, I wouldn't be able to touch you freely anymore. What a shame that would be! Also, most people are flattered when big brother France gives them that attention~"

"That's not an excuse to harass me."

"Non," France agreed, "but it is the truth. And given this opportunity, I hope you know that what I was doing was not courting you. If you still hope for this person, I will back off (because I am not one, of all people, to object to young love!), but if I am given this chance, know that my courting is very intense and sincere," France smirked, eyes blazing.

"I never back away from a challenge of the hearts."

Estonia paused for a moment, letting all that sink in. Unsure of how to respond, he looked down at the question sheet he had prepared for the interview.

"What's your opinion on love and sex?"

"Well, I think sex can certainly enhance a loving relationship, but I do not think they are necessarily interconnected. You can love someone and never have sex with them and you can have enjoyable sex with someone and never love them."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Yes," France smiled wistfully, "but only once has someone been able to love me back just as much. I do not expect you to love me, _Estonie_, and I know you are looking for love, but I would like a chance. Take it from me: love always complicates things."

Estonia looked back down at the paper, and swallowed thickly. "Is that a fact?"

"It is a fact for me, but please, do not base your life on mine, _mon cher_. True love may certainly be out there for you! I do not know who this other person is, but if you love them—"

"I _don't_," Estonia interrupted, shocking himself with the force of the denial. France stared briefly, his smoldering blue eyes flickering up towards Estonia's before continuing.

"...If you love this person, you need to talk to them."

"If you're trying to take my virginity, why are you helping this other person out—assuming he exists."

"Because it is my duty as the nation of love! Despite what you may think of me, I do not want you unhappy, _Estonie_. Which is, of course, why I am offering myself as an option. If you chose me to take your virginity, I assure you would not be disappointed. I am as much an expertise on sex as I am on love."

"Okay," Estonia responded slowly. He could work with that, he thought. "If you were to go to the next round, what would our date be like?"

"Oh, it would be the most romantic thing you could imagine! Anything you wish for, within reason, would be at your beck and call! There would be roses, and the finest wine you can imagine from my own personal stock. I would even cook, if you'd like."

Estonia scribbled something down on his note pad before looking at his watch. He figured that he already had the information he would need.

"I think our interview slot is almost up. Do you have anything you would like to say?"

"Only to take my advice to heart. It may hurt to not have your feelings requited, but it is much worse to deny that your feelings exist."

"Is that also from experience?"

France smiled sadly, "Yes."

"Just out of curiosity, but do you mind telling me who that person is?" Estonia asked because, truly, he was curious.

"Yes," France repeated and after a stony pause, he stood abruptly, apparently signaling that he wouldn't go into any further detail. Then his attitude seemed to change completely, and he flashed Estonia one of his famous sly grins.

"Well, _Estonie_, I hope this has been productive and I hope to see you again very soon."

Estonia stood also and held out his hand, for a shake, only to blush when France grabbed his hand and kissed the back of it. He looked up with those smoldering blue eyes again and winked, his expression devious. Estonia immediately took his hand back as though scalded.

"Thank you for this little chat, _Estonie_, and remember: you can always come to big brother!"

"You're welcome," Estonia responded back, a little distantly and he watched as France left the room. With a sigh, he sat down and felt his cell phone through his pocket. He didn't want to admit it and he didn't want to take France's advice, but somewhere deep down, he knew France was right.

Estonia would have to make a call soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Warnings: Russia

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Authoress Note: This is a short little update, sorry guys for the wait. :(

- - - o0o - - -

Estonia sat a while pondering what France told him before until the next country came in. He looked up and his heart nearly stopped.

It was Russia.

Estonia stiffened and tried to curb his first instinct to run, but he noticed that Russia didn't seem particularly crazy at the moment. If anything, he seemed strangely normal. Russia smiled and sat down in the chair across from the Baltic and waited patiently for Estonia to get over his shock to start speaking.

"Hello, Estoniya."

"Um. Hello. I'm sorry Mr. Russia, but I-I wasn't…expecting you…" Estonia stuttered, unable to stop reverting back to those feelings he hadn't felt in two decades. He was nervous, quite frankly and was beginning to regret his decision on how the interviews would go. He couldn't help but picture Russia getting angry at some point, losing it, and taking it out on him.

"Why wouldn't you?" Russia asked with that tiny unnerving smile that never left his face. Estonia felt like the question was a trap.

"It's just…I didn't think…you ever paid that much attention to me…"

"I've known you for centuries, Estoniya, of course I did," Russia answered pleasantly before his smile finally shifted. There was a pause and he looked down at his lap, fiddling with the hem of his scarf.

"But I get it. You are nervous, yes? I have not been the best to you over those centuries."

"Mr. Russia…" Estonia trailed off with a sigh, unsure of what to say. He eventually settled with, "You know we have a lot of history together."

"But all of it couldn't have been bad history."

Estonia remained silent, contemplating how much he was willing to risk with answering that. He licked his lips and spoke slowly as though he were approaching a wild animal.

"I'm not…I'm not going to be able to just _forget_ everything you've done to me and my brothers overnight, Mr. Russia," he said in a sort of apologetic way.

"I know, but I've changed a lot, Estoniya, I'm getting better. My people are helping me—my _boss_ is helping me," Russia said in a way that made him seem small, which was strange for a man that was so physically imposing.

"What about the night the bet was made and you chased me?"

"I wasn't sober. You know how I get when I drink, Estoniya…" he trailed off, but Estonia knew. Those terrifying moments when alcohol peaked Russia's insanity still made the Baltic wake up in a cold sweat at night, even though he had mostly put it behind him. He didn't need to be told about it.

"But I am not drinking so much now!" He said hurriedly, as though he was sensing the dark turn of Estonia's thoughts. "That was my first bottle in a month."

Estonia wanted to feel pity for the larger man, he really did, but…he just couldn't put everything behind him. He sighed again.

"Mr. Russia…"

"I know you still think of me as that monster, but I've changed. A lot. Even if that night, which was not a good night, didn't show it."

Estonia didn't want to reject the other right away, for his sake and the other's, but he couldn't lead the man on, let him think he still had a chance. Russia had lost his chance centuries ago.

"Mr. Russia, I'm going to have to be frank. It's not that I don't trust that you are trying to get better; I just simply can't ignore the history between us. And even if you are getting better, I—I can't wait until you're _there_. I'm—I'm sorry."

Estonia waited for the other's response, but it didn't seem like he would be getting one. Instead, there was tense silence, a moment when the monster seemed to slip out and that old terror overtook Estonia's bones. Russia's eyes narrowed, his fists balled and his tense arms told Estonia that the only thing saving him at the moment was the table between them.

The Baltic knew that Switzerland and his gun was only a shout away, but his curiosity defeated his fear. How much had Russia truly separated himself from the monster? How much was Russia telling the truth?

But at least part of him must have been, because suddenly the tension eased from Russia's body and he seemed more embarrassed than anything, his own violet eyes darting away from Estonia's.

"I…you are right. Perhaps I am not there….But I want to be."

Estonia nodded sadly, "I know."

"But I will be someday. I will promise you that."

"I know."

"Is that all, Estoniya?"

Estonia frowned, searching for something he knew he wouldn't find in the other's eyes. "Yes, I guess it is."

Russia stood and it was though a great wave of tension released from the room. Estonia stood also, though he wondered if it was fear out of disrespecting the other man or reverence.

"I _am _sorry, Mr. Russia." He held out his hand, perhaps hoping to make up for the whole conversation, their history, but Russia didn't accept it. He just adjusted his scarf and said, "Maybe one day we can start over, Estoniya."

Estonia nodded and slowly let his hand drop. "Maybe."

Russia turned to leave and when he was halfway to the door, he paused for a bit.

"If you see Natalia, please do not tell her I was here today."

Estonia found himself smiling a little, despite himself. "Of course."

Russia left and Estonia found himself once again sitting down with a sigh. Two down, eight to go.


	10. Chapter 10

Warnings: My inability to write Denmark

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Authoress Note: I was just struggling with all these interviews, until I decided to say, "fuck it" and sum up half of them. Also, amount spoken =/= make it to the next round. I just really couldn't think of how to make the interviews all that unique. I also apologize for the basterdization of Estonia's history and Denmark

- - - o0o - - -

Estonia sat down, still feeling uneasy about his decision to hold these interviews. But he couldn't back out now, so he willed himself to be strong and felt strangely reassured when another nation entered. It was Australia. Odd, considering Estonia had never even recalled talking to the nation before, let alone Australia being interested in him that way, but his grinning demeanor—plus his lack of business attire—put Estonia at ease.

"Didja get my flowers?" Was the first thing Australia said, with a grin, as he sat down in front of the Baltic nation. Estonia flushed, suddenly remembering the blockade of flowers in front of his hotel room and how he and Switzerland had kicked them aside.

"Uh . . . no, sorry," he lied. Australia looked a tad disappointed and said,

"Really? Damn . . . I guess I'll have to send some more then." But he didn't seem all that concerned. Not sure how to respond to the persistence of the other, Estonia looked down at his sheet and decided to start with that.

"So . . . what are your thoughts on love and sex?"

"Well, I've never been in love, so I can't really say much about that, but sex can certainly be awesome. I guess, outside of pleasure, it could be used to bring people together or something."

Estonia looked back down at his paper, skipping over the next question.

"If you were to make it to the next round and were to take me on a date, where would you take me?"

"Probably to a beach. Haven't really thought much about it, to be honest, but it just sounds like a place you need to go. No offense. But when's the last time you went to a beach just for the fun of it?"

Estonia paused and then frowned when he realized that he couldn't think of a very recent time.

"See? That's what I'm here for: to loosen you up a bit!" Australia grinned and, for a moment, Estonia was caught off guard by just how much it reminded him of another person.

"Right. So um, what do you hope to gain from this? Aside from my virginity, of course."

"I'm just in it for the experience, mate, and I just want you to enjoy it. You're really cute, but you really need to smile more!"

"Anything else you want to say?"

"Nah, not really. That pretty much sums up everything."

Estonia shook his hand and terminated the interview. Almost all the interviews took on the same format. With the next interviewee, England, he asked the same general questions. The other came in, looking crisp in a suit, despite his fly-away hair and his handshake was firm before he sat down.

"So, what are your thoughts on love and sex?"

"Well, I think they're both equally important to a committed relationship, but I believe that one can exist without the other."

"Have you ever been in love?"

A pause. "Yes."

Estonia waited for the other to elaborate, but when he didn't, Estonia hastily asked the next question.

"If you were to advance to the next round and were to take me on a date, where would you take me?"

"Oh, I'd probably take you out to dinner or do a little touring. As much as I hate Antonio, I have to admit that his country _is _beautiful and simplicity has its rewards, you know."

"What do you hope to gain from this? Aside from my virginity . . ."

England gave a wry smile. "Not much, really, unless you count saving you from bastards like France."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Only that I'm sorry the childishness of a few nations has forced you to this, but I'm not sorry for this chance," he held out his hand, his grin distinctly slyer.

"I hope to show you what a true gentleman is like."

The next country, surprisingly, was Greece, another nation Estonia never recalled talking to before. He came in looking somewhat like he had just rolled out of bed (though, judging from what Estonia had heard about him, that may have well been the case). He held a kitten in his arms and scratched behind its ears when he sat down.

"What are your thoughts on love and sex?"

"Hmm," he began slowly, voice deep like a purr, "I think they are both important to life. But sex doesn't equal love. Love has no substitute," he nodded slowly.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Yes," he half-smiled, "many times."

"If you were to advance to the next round and were to take me on a date, where would you take me?"

"Hmm, probably the park or something else calm and nice. Where we could do whatever we want."

"Is there anything you hope to gain from this?"

Greece paused, thoughtful, and then smiled. "It's nice being with someone, you know? Special. I like the feeling of that."

"Anything else you'd like to say?"

" . . . Do you want to hold her?"

Estonia blinked at the kitten being shoved into his personal space and begrudgingly took the animal. "Sure, thanks," he mumbled, a little confused about the strange transfer.

"She likes you." And the kitten indeed appeared to like him. She curled up on his lap, making Estonia smile a little and he reluctantly began to stroke her back.

"What's her name?"

"Pandora."

Estonia raised his eyebrows and asked incredulously, "Seriously?"

"Yes," Greece answered with a fond smile, "she gets into everything."

They basked in comfortable silence for a little while before Greece left, taking his kitty with him, and the next nation entered. It was America. Estonia didn't know why the sight of him made butterflies appear in his stomach—he should have, after all, foreseen that America would make it through. The younger nation gave a small wave when he entered with a little, "Hey."

Estonia sighed when he sat down. "Mr. Am—Alfred."

"Look: I know what you're thinking. Why am I here? That was a pretty shitty date and how I treated you was even shittier. I know I probably don't deserve a second date, but I'll be damned if I don't try."

Estonia was shocked for a moment by the passion in America's little speech.

" You . . . you aren't going to leave if I tell you to, are you?"

America grinned. "Nope."

"Even if I call Switzerland?"

"I'm not afraid of him."

Estonia tried to keep the smile from his face. "Well, I guess I have to interview you then."

The interview went well; America's outlandish tastes seemed to have been reigned in somewhat. The only truly surprising answer was the activity of the date.

"I'd take you stargazing."

Estonia's eyebrows rose into his bangs. "Really?"

"Yeah! A-and not like in a mushy-girly way or anything!" he blushed, "just, you know, stars are awesome. I like finding the constellations and looking for planets and stuff."

And then misreading Estonia's expression, he exclaimed, "But if that's really lame, we don't have to do that!"

Estonia quickly assured the other that it wasn't and they continued. When the interview ended and America left, Estonia felt slightly more hopeful about the prospects of the bet until the next nation entered. It was Denmark. And maybe, under different circumstances that would be okay and Estonia might have been able to distance the past Demark from his current day, happy-go-lucky counter part. But this was difficult. Denmark was one of the reasons that Estonia made that vow to himself in the first place and it was hard to suppress the sinking feeling in his stomach at the mere thought of Denmark once again vying for his virginity.

"Hey, Eddy," Denmark grinned when he sat down, oblivious to the atmosphere.

Estonia sat still and silent, wondering, like Russia, if it would be better to deny him now or just continue. After all, Denmark was not nearly as potentially violent as Russia.

Eventually, Estonia decided to go through the usual questions until the very end when he asked softly, "Do you remember the scar on my shoulder?"

Denmark visibly paled. "Shit, Eddy, you're still thinking about that?"

For a moment, the smaller blonde was offended. "Of course I'm still thinking about that. Considering these circumstances, it's hard not to."

"Okay, in my defense, every other bastard you've got here this morning has probably done the same, or worse as I've done to you to their conquests. I . . . I can't _change_ history Eddy, and I wasn't myself back then."

"This isn't about history, it's about trust."

"I know I was a real jerkass to you, I'm not proud of it, but I've apologized like a billion times already. I honestly thought we were past that." If possible, Estonia only looked more annoyed.

"We're not past that when you're applying for my virginity. Do you remember what I told you that night?"

Denmark sighed and looked suddenly defeated. "Yes. You told me that you were saving yourself for my god."

It had been a lie at the time. Even now, Estonia couldn't find it in himself to believe.

"Do you know why I said that?"

A pause. "To protect yourself from me."

"And what else did I say?"

"Do we really have to—?"

"_Yes_," Estonia snapped, looking every bit as visibly upset as though he were reliving everything that they were discussing.

"You said that you could change your mind though, for love."

"And what did you do?"

". . . I promised you that I would be with you forever."

"That worked out well, didn't it?" Estonia's tone was bitter and Denmark stared at him in disbelief. Silence briefly filled the room, apparently stewing a rage inside the Dane.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're lording that over my head _now?_ What, seven hundred years later?"

"It was obviously much more important to me than it was to you," Estonia quipped, eyes blazing despite the heat rising to his cheeks.

"Importance or not, I know a grudge when I see one," he spat and stood, unabashed and unapologetic. Not reaching Estonia's eyes, he walked away, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, "Mental son-of-a-bitch."

And Estonia bit his tongue to keep from responding, trying not to show how much those comments truly stung. He didn't know what made him angrier: Denmark or the truth in his words. Estonia had, after all, forgiven much worse than what Denmark had done. He hat to, it was the only way nations could exist with their longevity.

But Estonia hadn't been lying when he spoke of those words' importance. At the time, it had meant everything to him. Despite how badly he had been treated, he had admired Denmark, loved him in a way. Later, he had been devastated to learn that he was to become someone else's property after Denmark's king died.

But that seemed to always be the case, didn't it? Whenever he decided to open up, he got crushed, ialways/i. And then he'd pull back, holding onto grudges, making sure that no one could hurt him ever again and it only served to push him away from people who actually cared about him. Like Denmark.

The blonde buried his face into his hands and groaned, realizing just how much he had fucked up the last interview. Thankfully, he was saved of much more of this by a, "Hello?"

Estonia looked up, startled. It was Spain.

"Eh, if this is a bad time . . ."

"No! I mean, no, it isn't." Flushing, Estonia reassured the man before beckoning him in. "Please, have a seat."

The interview went fabulously compared to the last one. Spain's cheery attitude certainly helped and Estonia had felt a lingering sense of déjà vu when, for their date, Spain said,

"I'd take you to a little ice cream shop I know. Because you can always use ice cream, no?"

Also at the end, because the thought kept nagging and confusing him, Estonia asked, "No offense, but aren't you dating Southern Italy?"

There was a heavy pause before Spain gave a remarkably sad smile and said, "Well . . . Romano is Romano. I can't wait forever."

Estonia decided not to breech the topic again.

The next, and ninth, nation was Hungary. Estonia was surprised and thankful. Not only did he and the other Uralic nation get along well, but it was refreshing to see a girl, something that he commented on.

"Well, a lot of girls just didn't apply," she replied candidly. "I think most of them think you're gay."

That thought had actually annoyed Estonia. He wasn't one hundred percent gay and he didn't think that he carried himself in a way to be identified as such (in other words, he wasn't Poland). He actually enjoyed looking at a pair of tits every now and then, thank you very much, but he didn't say any of this to Hungary. If she didn't know that, then she wouldn't have been there.

Once he finished with Hungary, Estonia actually found himself looking forward to the last nation. The quicker he got through this whole thing, the quicker he could put this behind him and move onto the next stage. The last two interviews had cheered him up considerably and he found himself hoping that this final one would make up for the blunders in his previous interviews.

The door opened and Estonia's breath caught.

It was Finland.


End file.
